New private hospital or day hospital applications

To operate a day hospital or a private hospital in Queensland you need to have a licence.

You must hold an approval to be an authority holder before you can commence building works for your new hospital or apply for a licence for the hospital. Your application tells us about your proposed hospital and who will be operating it.

When building works are nearly complete - you will then need to apply for a licence to operate the hospital.

Process for applying to operate a day hospital or private hospital in Queensland

Applications

Approval to be an authority holder/build a new day or private hospital

If you want to establish a new hospital - or construct a building which may be used as a day or private hospital in future - you need to apply for an approval before you start building/fit-out.

To assess your application, we will evaluate the

• financial capacity of the entity - individual or organisation - proposing to hold the licence
• suitability of the individuals associated with the entity - reviewing their skills, knowledge and experience
• design of the building - considering the type of hospital and services that will be provided. Your plans need to be reviewed by the Chief Health Officer as the concurrent agent for the Queensland Development Code: Mandatory Part 5 – Private Health Facilities (MP5.5) (PDF, 239KB) before you submit them with your application.

Before you apply, we encourage you to contact the Private Health Regulation Unit to discuss your proposal.

How to apply

Download the Approval to be an authority holder (PHFA-17) form (PDF 282 kB), view the resources and information sheets and supporting documentation forms.

You must apply when the plans and supporting information have been prepared and before you start to build.

Extend, change, replace or surrender an approval

To extend, change, replace or surrender an approval, you can:

• apply to extend the approval beyond the initial 2-year period by completing an Extend an approval (PHFA-25) form (PDF 215 kB)
• change the details of the original approval by completing a change an approval (PHFA-30) form (PDF 265 kB)
• replace an approval if it has been lost, stolen or destroyed by completing the replace an approval (PHFA-38) form (PDF 178 kB)
• surrender an approval by completing the surrender a licence or approval form.. (PDF 170 kB)

Licence to operate the new facility

To apply for a licence to operate you need to

• hold a current approval for a proposed new private health facility (a day hospital or a private hospital)
• apply for a licence for the hospital as specified in the approval (any changes need to be made before you apply for your licence).

We will evaluate the:

• suitability of management, staffing and equipment of the hospital, including the executive team
• arrangements for the clinical services to be provided at the hospital, including policies and procedures
• evidence of compliance with the relevant standards
• physical premises built in accordance with the approved plans.

How to apply

Apply at least 60 days before the proposed commencement of services. As part of our assessment, we will do an onsite visit. This visit should be scheduled before final handover of the building. The documentation should be completed 3-6 weeks before the onsite visit to allow time for processing.

Download the Licence to operate a private health facility (PHFA-42) form (PDF 251 kB).

Transfer a licence

You may apply to transfer a licence if you are taking over an existing licenced facility.

Find out more about existing private health facility applications.

Legislation

The licencing process involves compliance with the:

• Private Health Facilities Act 1999
• Private Health Facilities Regulation 2016
• Private Health Facilities (Standards) Notice 2016.